[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16193-16195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7290]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA 84.060A]


Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Indian 
Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new and continuation awards 
for fiscal year (FY) 2001, Indian Education Formula Grants to Local 
Educational Agencies.

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SUMMARY:   

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    Purpose: The Indian Education Formula Grant program provides grants 
to support local educational agencies in their efforts to reform 
elementary and secondary school programs that serve Indian students. 
The programs funded are to be based on challenging State content 
standards and State student performance standards used for all 
students, and be designed to assist Indian students to meet those 
standards.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs) and certain 
schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Indian tribes under 
certain conditions.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 21, 2001.
    Applications not meeting the deadline will not be considered for 
funding in the initial allocation of awards. However, if funds become 
available after the initial allocation of funds, applications not 
meeting the deadline may be considered for funding if the Secretary 
determines under section 9117(d) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended, that reallocation of those funds to 
late applicants would best assist in advancing the purposes of the 
program. However, the amount and date of an individual award, if any is 
made under this provision, may be less that the applicant would have 
received had the application been submitted on time.

Application Procedures

    Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for 
transmitting applications differ from those in the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 
75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make 
procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy. 
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined 
that proposed rulemaking is not required.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    The U.S. Department of Education is expanding its pilot project of 
electronic submission of applications to include certain formula grant 
programs, as well as additional discretionary grant competitions. The 
Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies, CFDA 
84.060A, is one of the programs included in the pilot project. If you 
are an applicant under the Indian Education Formula Grants to 
Educational Agencies, you may submit your application to us in either 
electronic or paper format.


    Note: Due to the Department's process for making awards to the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), e-APPLICATION is not able to accept 
applications from schools directly operated by the BIA at this time. 
The Department hopes that in the future the software will be 
enhanced to accommodate BIA-operated schools. For more information 
on application procedures for BIA-operated schools, please contact 
the Office of Indian Education at 202-260-3774.


    The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-APPLICATION, formerly e-GAPS) portion of the 
Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). We request your 
participation in this pilot project. We shall continue to evaluate its 
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
    If you participate in this e-APPLICATION pilot, please note the 
following:
     Your participation is voluntary.
     You will not receive any additional point value or penalty 
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format.
     You can submit all documents electronically, including the 
Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
     Fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal 
Assistance (ED 424), a completed Indian Student Count--LEA Total form, 
and a signed Parent Committee Approval form after following these 
steps:
    1. Print the ED 424, Indian Student Count--LEA Total form, and 
Parent Committee Approval form from the e-APPLICATION system.
    2. Make sure that the institution's Authorizing Representative 
signs the ED 424 and Indian Student Count--LEA Total form.
    3. Obtain the signature(s) of the Parent Committee on the Parent 
Committee Approval form. (Note: Schools funded by the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs and Tribal applicants are not required to complete the Parent 
Committee Approval form.)
    4. Before faxing these forms, submit your electronic application 
via the e-APPLICATION system. You will receive an automatic 
acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying 
number unique to your application).
    5. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of ED 
424.
    6. Fax the ED 424, Indian Student Count--LEA Total form, and Parent 
Committee Approval form (if applicable) to Cathie Martin, Office of 
Indian Education at (202) 260-7779 within three working days of 
submitting your electronic application.
     We may request that you give us original signatures on all 
other forms at a later date.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Indian 
Education Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    We have included additional information about the e-APPLICATION 
pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic 
Applications and Transmittal Instructions) in the application.


    Note: Your e-APPLICATION must be submitted through the Internet 
using the software provided on the e-Grants Web Site (http://e-grants.ed.gov) by 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time) on the deadline 
date. All e-APPLICATION submissions that are attempted after that 
time on the closing date will not be accepted. Applicants that miss 
the e-APPLICATION submission time must print out their entire 
application (an original and two copies) and transmit hard copies of 
the application, following the transmittal procedures for mail or 
hand delivery, not later than midnight of the closing date. As no 
late e-APPLICATIONS are accepted, please note that the policy for 
possible funding of late applications (discussed elsewhere in this 
Notice) applies solely to hard copy applications.


    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 23, 2001.
    Applications Available: April 4, 2001.
    Available Funds: The appropriation for this program for fiscal year 
2001 is $92,765,000, which should be sufficient to fund all eligible 
applicants.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $3,000 to $1,900,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $68,715.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 1,275.


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.


    Project Period: Up to 60 months.
    Budget Requirement: All projects with budgets of $125,000 or more 
must plan and budget for one person to attend a two day Project 
Directors' meeting to be held in Washington, DC in September or October 
2001. Other projects not meeting the level of funding specified may 
attend at their discretion.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Cathie Martin, Office of 
Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, 
SW., Room 3W115, Washington, DC 20202-6335. Telephone: (202) 260-3774. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information

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Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request of the person listed in the preceding paragraph.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format, also, by contacting that person. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 
format the standard forms included in the application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites: http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm; or http://www.ed.gov/news.html.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using 
the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office toll free at 1-888-
293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.


    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7811.

    Dated: March 19, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-7290 Filed 3-22-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U